ing of two mental images always results in a judgment as to which
is preferable, or that one course of action would be better than the
other._ The mind is never so exactly balanced between contrasting ideas
that it does not tip at all either way.

[Sidenote: Weighing Ideas of A Steak]

The skill of the salesman weighmaster, used legitimately before the
mind's eye of the prospect to tip the scales of decision to the
favorable side, is illustrated in the story of a butcher who had been
asked by a woman customer to weigh a steak for her. He knew that the
weighing process _in her mind_ included more than the balancing of a
certain number of pounds and ounces on the scale. Against the reasons
for her evident inclination to take the selected steak, she would weigh
its cost, her personal ideas of its value, and other factors of the high
cost of living.

[Sidenote: Skillful Close of The Sale]

The butcher wished to bring her quickly to a favorable decision. He
wanted to make up the customer's mind for her in such a conclusive way
that she would be prevented from hesitating over the purchase. As a
weighman of pounds and ounces he only wanted to show the prospect that
he was honest. But in order to tip _the buying scales in her mind_ he
put into the balances, on the side opposite the cost of the steak, the
heavier weight of buying inducements. First he did the actual weighing
of the steak; then he added on the "Yes" side of the scales of decision
_ideas of the excellence and desirability of the meat_. He followed
immediately with a _suggestion of action that would commit the prospect
to buying_.

"Two pounds and five ounces, ma'am! Only a dollar and forty-three cents.
It's the very choicest part of the loin. You couldn't get a cut any
tenderer than that, or with less bone. Would you like to have a little
extra suet wrapped up with it?"

[Sidenote: Three Effects Produced]

The butcher thus combined in his close _three effects_. He brought about
_judgment of the prospect's intellect_, plus _increased desire_ for the
goods, plus the _impulse to carry the desire into action_.

First, by emphasizing, "Two pounds and five ounces!" in a _heavy_ tone,
and by depreciating the cost, "Only a dollar and forty-three cents,"
spoken _lightly_, he implied that the _value_ of the steak far
outweighed the _price_. Thus judgment of the prospect's intellect was
effected.

Second, to stimulate increased desire for the steak, the butcher
s